Rosetta Bloodstar
by Alix Mason
Summary: Saved by one, loved by another; what's a girl like Rosetta to do? The Prefect at school, she is in charge of guarding the grounds at night, keeping the Day Class students safe from the terrible and threatening secret that the school harbors.
1. Chapter 1

_I can save him_, she had said. _But first we need to make a little deal, okay?_

I had agreed, but only because it was the only thing I could do. I had no other choice. I couldn't let anything happen to him. The aftermath of that would be disastrous; or so I thought as I walked to what could possibly be my death.

But as I walked, I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about them. I was thinking about Dimitri and Vincent, two very important people in my life; neither of whom I could let go, one of which I currently had to save.

He didn't know what I was doing. I wasn't even sure if he knew where I was. But if he had known I was positive that he would have stopped me. As I thought this I started to walk faster because it probably wouldn't be long until another group of patrols walked by and saw me. Then my plan would be ruined and I would never have a chance like this for a very long time; and right now I only had a matter of days before I would no longer be able to save him. I had to get to the Moon dorm and I had to get there tonight. Silver Darklove never went to classes and I guessed at why that was with the rest of the Day Class students. But we would never know for sure what the real reason was. But I was almost certain that I would find out tonight.

As I made my way up the steps to the Moon dormitories, I thought about what I was doing one more time for once I passed through the gates I would no longer be able to turn back. This was my last chance. But I knew what I had to do; and what I had to do was sacrifice myself to Silver.

_I know how to save your precious little Vincent. But a deal has to be made first. _Her words still echoed in my head. _The deal is simple; give your entire being to me, or bring me the corpse of Dimitri._

I couldn't bring myself to murder Dimitri. I could never harm him for I owed him my life. So the only option was to give myself to Silver.

I continued on my way up the steps to the Moon dorm riding souly on the hope that my decision would not be for nothing.

The dorm gates towered far above my head. A feeling of intimidation and dread suddenly fell upon me. But I pulled myself together, opened the gates, and walked through. As the door to the Moon dorm loomed closer my heart started beating faster and my breathing turned to gasps.

What is happening? I thought to myself. Something is seriously wrong here. But I have to get to Silvers dorm room.

I took a few deep breaths until my breathing had become somewhat normal again and my heart beat had slowed down a bit. I continued on my way up the steps, pushing open the door when I reached it.

As I stepped in and looked around I realized that I had no idea where I was going. I was all alone in the main room of the dorm; I could tell. All of a sudden a cool rush of air blew through the room and the door shut behind me. I felt a sudden presence in the room that hadn't been there before.

"Hello?"


	2. Chapter 2

"You are looking for Miss Silver, correct?" asked a voice.

"Yes," I replied. I glanced up at the small pathway that connected one staircase to the other and lead all the way across the back wall.

There were two big windows on either side f the door behind me. The light, had it been let in, would have been blinding during the day. But at night the curtains were opened and pulled to the side.

I returned my attention to the girl at the top of the stairs. She nodded for me to follow her. I took a deep breath and walked to the stairs, taking them one at a time. When I reached the top she walked down the longer of the two hallways, heading toward the eastern wing of the dorm. I had spent endless days crouched over the blueprints left over from before the school was built, inspecting every inch of the grounds. There was no way I could get lost here; or so I thought.

We walked about half way down the hallway and stopped in front of a large painting that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. As simply as if she had touched an invisible key pad on the wall, the painting swung forward to reveal a hidden corridor with a staircase leading up. I had known there was another floor to the building here but in all the blueprints I had looked at this had never been there. I looked from the passageway to the girl who had led me here. She wore a black expression on her face, as if she had no emotions and she nodded for me to follow the tunnel to the staircase.

"Go up only two flights of the stairs. Trouble awaits anyone who goes higher than that."

And with that she turned around and headed back down the way we had come, leaving me alone in front of the open hole in the wall. Now, I had two options; I could walk through the passage and up the two flights of stairs and give up all freedom rights that I currently had, or I could run down the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door. But that chances that the latter would succeed were currently very slim. Basically that left me with either going up the stairs or going up the stairs. There was no other option. So I took yet another deep breath and walked down the path and up the stairs.

When I got to the top of the first flight of stairs there was a landing and a door with a sign on it that read "Flight 2" in bright red letters. I slowly eased it open, stepping through only when it was safely propped open. When I reached the landing at the top of the second flight there were two doors, both with signs on them. One door read "Flight 3: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK", the other "Silver Darklove". I put my ear up against the first door, trying to see if I could hear anything that would hint at what was behind it. I heard growling noises and then some croaking, but it wasn't croaking like you hear from a frog; it was croaking that you would hear from a raven. I thought about what could be so scary about a raven and, for a moment, considered opening the door just a crack to peek at what was behind it but then thought better of it. I was just coming up with excuses to delay going into Silver's room. I turned away from the door with the warning on it and faced the one that lead to her room. I lifted my hand to knock, but froze when a voice from inside softly said, "Come in."


	3. Chapter 3

I obeyed, slowly opening the door and peeking around the corner. The room was magnificent, like nothing I had ever seen before which I unfortunately have to admit wasn't much, seeing as I had only left the campus once and that had nearly gotten me killed by a vampyre. But that is a story for another time.

There was a fire place over in the far side of the room to my right with a large, intricate, gold and red chair in front of the hearth. The walls were painted a deep royal purple with golden curtains framing the three large windows that presented themselves on the walls. The molding around the ceiling and floors was painted gold, contrasting well with the dark purple of the walls and blood red of the carpet. The room was actually bigger than it looked from the outside of the building and on the blueprints of what was supposed to be up here. The room extended into a bathroom and what looked like a bedroom, too. But I couldn't be sure because from the doorway it could have been anything.

"You can come in, you know. I've been waiting for you," came a voice from the big chair in front of the fireplace.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to keep you waiting," I stammered in response. My shaky voice sounded pale in comparison with her smooth, sweet, melodic one.

"It's understandable. You humans move so slowly," the voice commented.

I bowed my head and walked in, closing the door behind me. As I stepped on the carpet a warm feeling filled the air and a sweet scent filled my nose. I wasn't quite sure what it was but it sure smelled good.

"Come closer," she commanded, and I walked a few more steps into the room, closing in on the chair.

"Don't worry. I don't bite, hard."

That frightened me a bit, but at this point I had no other choice at that moment so I walked forward towards the chair, stopping to stand silently beside it, head bent down, eyes staring into the fire.

"Now that's better isn't it?"

"I guess."

"Well, I guess we both know why you're here," she stated.

"Yes," I answered quietly.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"No," I said, and it would have been believable had my voice not cracked in the middle.

"You're scared," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," I admitted sullenly.

"You know, you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do," I disagreed.

"Suit yourself. Come sit down," she said.

I walked farther towards the fireplace then turned around and took a seat next to Silver. She was relaxed, head back and eyes closed. I, on the other hand, was uptight, sitting up straight and staring into the flames, mesmerized by the dancing of the fire.

"Why do you stare into the flames like that?" she asked.

I shook my head, shaking of the hypnotic effects the fire seemed to instill upon me.

"I'm not sure," I answered. "It's just mesmerizing."

"I see," she said. "I might just keep you."


	4. Chapter 4

She paused.

"You're special to him, aren't you?" she asked me.

"Who?" I asked. I needed to stop staring at the fire. I couldn't concentrate.

"Vincent. Why are you so important to him?"

"I don't know. He came to the academy after his family was murdered by a vampyre. I was the first and only one who really cared for him."

"But that still doesn't explain…" she trailed off.

I wanted to ask her what it didn't explain, but it would have been disrespectful and disrespecting a vampyre, especially Silver, would not be a good idea.

She shifted to face me and her sudden movement caused me to jump.

"Relax. There's nothing to worry about," she said.

I tried to relax but a knot in my stomach, probably nerves, refused to loosen up, making it impossible to completely relax. But I fought back, taking deep breaths and closing my eyes, sinking back into the chair.

"There," she said. "That's better, now, isn't it?"

"Yes," I said. My body may have been loose, but my voice was tight, as if someone were closing their hands around my neck.

She frowned. I took a few more breaths.

"Sorry," I said, trying to stay relaxed. But it was hard to do when you're sitting next to one of the most powerful vampyres you know and the reason you're sitting there is because you're giving up every ounce of freedom you have to that one vampyre.

"Don't apologize, just relax," she instructed.

I tried, staring into the fire yet again. I realize all too late that that was a bad idea, for soon I couldn't look away no matter how hard I tried. Eventually I didn't want to look away for the flames danced in front of my eyes, creating a wonderful show. They told a story and I felt compelled to listen and watch. Then the dance seemed to become reality.

Fire surrounded me on all sides. I was no longer in Silver's room, but in the middle of a town seeming to be made of fire, from what I could see. I heard screams coming from within the houses. There were children running up and down the streets yelling and crying tears of fire.

Then the scene changed and nothing made sense. The fire still surrounded me but no figures of shapes could be distinguished from the mass of colors and heat. No sounds could be heard over the roar of the flames. I felt blind in my surroundings for everywhere I looked was the same. But, out of nowhere, a fire-colored figure burst out of the mass of fire and came directly at me, causing me to scream.

I opened my eyes to find myself back in Silver's room, heart racing and breathing labored.

"Are you okay?" asked Silver, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I think so," I managed to get out between gasping breaths.

"Are you sure?"

I didn't have the breath left in me to speak so I just nodded my head.

After I recovered from my waking nightmare Silver led me into one of the many rooms that seemed to exist up here. It looked like a bedroom to me but I couldn't be completely sure. You could never be certain what a vampyre might have up their sleeve. There was a bed in the corner with a few pillows and a blanket on it. The window was covered with maroon-colored drapes that matched the headboard of the bed. On the opposite side of the room was an antique love-seat sized bench. She pulled me over to it, sitting down and motioning for me to do the same.

As soon as I had taking my spot on her left she closed her hand painfully tight around my right wrist and leaned towards me, stopping when she was not two inches from my face.

"Now listen to me and listen well for I do not like to repeat myself. Nothing is going to happen to you tonight; at least not by me. But you are going to do me a little favor. You with me so far?"

I nodded my head.

"Good. Now, the favor is just a little test to see if you really are worth keeping."

She paused, allowing that to sink in. Her grip on my wrist was so tight I was beginning to lose feeling in it.

"My…wrist…," I gasped as the pain became unbearable.

She glanced down at our hands but did not release them. If anything, she tightened up even more.

"Have you ever been outside these walls?" she asked.

"Once," I whispered through the pain.

"Do you know where a place called Club Blood is?" she inquired.

I could no longer speak so I just nodded a yes. My father and mother had walked past it with me on the rare occasion that we needed something that could not be delivered to the school.

"Good. Waiting there is my brother. I can't have him just walk into the school. I need someone to escort him so he does not get himself into trouble."

She paused to pull a photo out of her pocket and handed it to me. I stared at the photograph seeing a young man with raven black hair, dark grey eyes, and pale skin.

"That is my brother. His name is Damian Cross. He works at Club Blood so you will have to stay and wait until they lock up. I'll give you a few things to protect yourself, but only use them in an emergency, okay?" she clarified.

I nodded, still staring at the man in the picture.

"You should be able to get there by eleven or twelve," she commented.

I nodded again, too numbed by fear to do much else.

"I'll walk you to the front door but I can go no farther than that," she said, standing up.

I stood up as well, following her out the front door and back out into the main room, making an extra effort to keep the flames of the fire out of my view.

When we reached the door that lead to the stairwell she stopped, pulled a small pouch of the folds of her dress, and handed it to me.

"Only for emergencies," she repeated, and with that, closed the door behind me, once again leaving me alone in the stairwell with only one option and that was to go to Club Blood, find her brother, and bring him here.

I walked down the two flights of stairs, down the hallway, down the one remaining staircase, and stopped at the front door. What I was about to do was going to require a lot of courage that was currently nonexistent. But I saw no alternative to going into Club Blood.


	5. Chapter 5

I left the Moon dorm, watching every shadow, bush, and tree for movement. When I found none I sprinted from the door to the gates, and from there all the way back to my dorm room on the Day Class side of the campus.

When I was inside my room I inspected myself in the mirror, checking to see if I should change before I left or not. If I were to walk into Club Blood wearing my black Day Class student uniform I would be the target of every vampyre in there the moment I walked in the door. I walked away from my mirror and over to my closet, opening the left side to reveal the clothes that I saved for the occasions when my duties happened to lead me off campus in order to walk unnoticed among the vampyres that roamed the city streets at night.

From my closet, I selected a pair of black jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt with a somewhat low neckline, black knee-socks, black Vans, and a black hooded cloak. Unfortunately the shirt that I had chosen was the only black shirt I owned at the moment so I had no other choice but to wear it. I hoped that the hood of my cloak would suffice to cover my neck seeing as I owned nothing much else to wear. After I had dressed in my black garb I walked over to my small vanity table, something that had belonged to my grandmother. Quickly going through all the drawers, I searched for some of my darker make up, finding exactly what I needed. I lay out my supplies to make sure that I had everything before I began to apply it. First, I had my midnight black eyeliner, then my grey and black eye shadow palette, and my mascara. Next to those lay my foundation and cover-up that was just a few shades lighter than my normal skin tone. And last was my bat black lipstick that I was still debating on wearing.

I stared into the mirror on the vanity, picked up my eyeliner, and began to draw somewhat think lines just above my eyelashes. My eye color seemed to darken as the black outline was traced onto my eyelids. Next came the eye shadow. I picked up my small brush and rubbed the darkest shade of black onto the brush then gently dragging it over my eyelids and the space under my eye brows, making my eyes even darker than they already were. I set down the brush and the shadow, replacing them with my mascara. I quickly brushed on a few coats of the stuff making my already long eye lashes look even longer and darker than before, and turning my eyes almost a midnight black. Last but not least came the foundation and powder. I smeared the liquid foundation over my skin, rubbing it in so it looked even, and then brushing the powder on top of it, lightening my skin to an almost white color.

After my make up was finally finished I moved on to my hair, one of the last few things to do before I left. I decided on something not too wild, but not as tame as I usually had it. I pulled it back into two pigtails coming out of the back of my head and crimped them, giving it a teased effect. I stood up from the vanity, put on my cloak, and walked out of the room.

When I reached the front door of my dorm I slid my hood carefully over my hair and strode out into the night, quickly walking down the path that led to the school gates, lined on both sides by big shady trees.

When I was finally only a few feet from the gate I heard someone fall into step behind me. I stopped, listening to the footsteps on the path until they stopped right behind me. I recognized them even before he reached me.

"You can't stop me," I said firmly.

"You don't have to do this," said a voice behind me.

"Yes, I do," I said. It felt as if I'd had to say that too many times tonight. Didn't anyone get it? Didn't they understand what he meant to me?

Dimitri wrapped his arms around my shoulders and hugged me.

"You can't stop me," I repeated, and I was right. He couldn't.

"You're right," he agreed. "I can't."

I breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't going to argue.

"But I can give you something that will help protect you, right?" he asked.

"I guess," I said.

"Good. I hope you like it. I think it's very pretty."

He reached his arms over my head and pulled my hood down, then fastened a necklace around my neck. When he pulled back I reached up to feel it. It was soft and not more than a few centimeters tall. There were what felt like chains hanging from it and a rose in the very middle.

"Velvet?" I clarified.

"Nothing less," he confirmed.

"Well, I have to leave now," I said, replacing my hood.

"Yes. I suppose you do," he allowed.

I turned around to get what might be my last look at his beautiful face. He looked just as he had when I had seen him this afternoon, but the moonlight made his skin glitter and glow like white gold. He smiled at me, cupped my face in his hands, and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

I turned away and began to walk to the gates, pushing them open and walking out. When I turned around to close them I looked up the path but he was gone. When the gates were closed I turned around and walked away, asking myself if I had truly heard him whisper, "Until we meet again, my angel," when I had walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

I arrived at Club Blood not too long after I had left the school. I checked my watch. It said it was fifteen minutes to midnight. Despite the late time the lights from inside the club flashed and the beat of the music caused tremors through the ground.

I took a deep breath, composing myself so as not to attract attention to myself when I walked in. I pulled down my hood and pushed open the door, stepping inside. The light in the entrance were dim but I could see some brighter ones flashing up ahead. The music was the same, if not louder, inside than it had been in the street.

I walked down a short hallway until I arrived at what seemed to be the entrance to the club. I placed my hand on the door, feeling it vibrate underneath the palm of my hand, then gently pushed and it swung inward, revealing bright flashing lights over a hardwood dance floor, huge speakers blasting all types of music, a small bar , and a staircase. The staircase stood in the far back corner of the room, forcing me to cross the entire width of the large spacious room to get to the base.

It was the only way; it seemed, to reach the stairs so I began to cross, weaving my way through the sea of people to reach the other side of the room. I kept my head down, only my eyes looking up. Glancing from side to side, then back in front of me, I slowly made my way across. Then, just about three yards from the staircase someone, a waiter, bumped into me.

"Sorry," we mumbled at the same time.

I glanced up to see who had bumped into me, only to find myself staring at the man Silver had shown me in the photograph.

"Damian Cross?" I asked.

"Yes?" he replied in return.

"Are you Silver Darklove's brother?" I asked, cautiously.

"Yes. Do you know her?" he asked.

"Yes, I do. She sent me there to escort you back to Minuit Academy," I replied.

"Rosetta Bloodstar?" he asked.

"Yes. How do you know my name?" I asked, shocked that h somehow knew me even though I was sure this was the first time we had met.

"My sister informed me that you would be arriving some time tonight," he clarified.

I nodded.

"We close at three-thirty am. You can wait where you wish but be at the stairs by that time."

I nodded once more and he walked away, while I resumed making my way across towards the staircase. When I reached the stairs, I began to make my way up. It was a very long staircase. Or maybe it just seemed like it because it was so quiet. Fear can make time tick by like a slug and slow down every motion you see. I stopped about half way up the stairs, resting for a moment, knowing that what waited beyond the top of the staircase wouldn't be human. At least, most of them wouldn't be.

I listened carefully to the sounds in the enclosed space. It was eerily silent, but just to make sure nothing was there that I wasn't aware of, I took a silent deep breath and held it, listening to the sounds surrounding me. And then I heard it. Someone else's breathing. I wasn't alone in the staircase. Someone was following me. I could tell that they weren't just trying to get up the stairs because if they were, they wouldn't have stopped as soon as I had. No. this person was most definitely following me. I released my pent up breath and began to make my way back up the stairs. I listened closely this time, and I could make out a second set of steps coming up behind me. I pretended not to hear them and continued my way up. I stopped when I reached the top of the stairs, standing in front of the door; not opening it, not even touching it. I was just standing in front of it, waiting for whoever was behind me to make his presence known.

And when he did, I almost wished I hadn't waited.


End file.
